Seller's Guide

A Step-by-Step First Time Seller's Guide

Putting your home on the market can be a stressful process, especially when you don’t know what to expect. Fortunately, with the help of an experienced agent  and this easy to follow  guide, you can smoothly complete the process. Following these steps  will help you prepare so you can get organized and sell your home for  the best price possible.​​​​​​​

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Step 1: Understand Why You're Selling

What do you want to accomplish with the sale of your home? Do you want to make a certain amount of money that you can put toward a larger or nicer home? Do you need to sell it as soon as possible to facilitate a move to a new city or area? Once you understand your needs, you can better craft your offer. For example, if you need to sell quickly, you might want to price your home lower than if your goal is to make a certain profit margin. Make sure you convey these needs to your realtor once you choose one so he or she can adjust your selling price accordingly.

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Step 2: Determine Selling Price

Knowing how to price your home is one of the most important parts of the selling process. When you set a fair price in the beginning, you’ll get the most interest from other real estate agents and prospective buyers. Overpricing your home could lead to reduced interest, and underpricing leads to receiving less than what your home is worth. Working with a real estate agent is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. An agent with experience can determine what other comparable homes are selling for, evaluate the current market, and may even suggest a home appraisal.

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Step 3: Start Preparations

If you’ve kept your home in showroom condition since you’ve lived in it, you’re in the minority of homeowners. Once you price your home, it’s time to start getting it ready to be shown to potential buyers. This includes getting rid of clutter, depersonalizing the space so that buyers can envision themselves in the space, making any small repairs, and doing a deep clean to make sure your home is in pristine condition.

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Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy

I will develop a marketing strategy that is perfect for advertising your home. This involves listing the home and then driving the right people to that listing through social media campaigns, agent-to-agent referrals, traditional media, or SEO advertising. My team creates a marketing campaign that aims to get the most possible traffic to your listing in the first three weeks after becoming a client.

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Step 5: Evaluate Offers

Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. We will evaluate each offer and make sure the party making the offer is prequalified or pre-approved by a mortgage lender and that their offer is acceptable to you. If the offer is too low, you can make a counter-offer or offer other ways to bridge the gap, such as covering some or all of the closing costs, making repairs, adjusting the move-in date, or leaving some appliances or fixtures for the new buyer.

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Step 6: Accept an Offer

Once we deem the offer is acceptable, we will review the proposed contract to make sure it’s all in order and includes the necessary components such as deposit amount, down payment, financing, inspection rights and repair allowances, contingencies, settlement date, and a list of fees and who will pay them. When both parties have agreed to the term, a final contract will be prepared by your agent.

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Step 7: Get Ready to Close

You have accepted an offer and are now very close to the end of your selling journey. But first, you and the buyer must make a list of what needs to be done before closing. In some cases, your home may need to be formally inspected, surveyed, and appraised. In other cases, major or minor repairs will need to be made before the house can close. I will head up efforts to develop and execute this list, get each action item paid for by the correct party, and make sure everything is in order by the closing date. A few days before the closing date, we will call the company closing the transaction to make sure everything is ready to go. If you haven’t done so already, you also need to make arrangements to move out of the home so the new buyer can take possession.

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Step 8: Close

You’ve reached the last step in the seller’s process. When you close on a home you are selling, you are legally transferring ownership of the property to the new buyer. We will meet with the company closing the transaction to sign the final paperwork and go over any issues that have not yet been taken care of. During this time, you can also make plans with your realtor to handle final details such as canceling utilities, cable, and lawn or trash services, changing the name on accounts that the new owner is retaining and ensuring the new owner has instructions for all appliances that will remain in the home.

Congratulations!

Once you have sold your home, you’re free to take the next step on your journey. Whether this is relocating to a new city, moving into a larger home, or downsizing and enjoying your life as empty-nesters, knowing all your selling responsibilities have been taken care of will help you achieve peace of mind for your new path.

Testimonials

See why my clients love working with me.

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Sara & Giancarlo

We appreciate your kindness and patience throughout a long and tedious process. You were so great and we always recommend you people who are house hunting.
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Gaby M.

Franco was super patient with me and all of my questions as a single woman buying a house all on my own for the first time. He cares for his clients like family!
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Jeanette M.

Dear Franco, thank you so much for all of the help with the sale of Meadow Green, and for everything you have done to make this a stress-free experience. I am so grateful for this great selling experience.
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Dane

Incredibly knowledgeable and easy to get in contact with. This man drove at night and in the middle of a snow storm to show me a place. In the end, it ended up being the one I purchased. Gotta hand it to him - there aren’t too ...
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Pamela W.

Franco guided my husband and me through the entire home search and home buying process. He was extremely patient and when we found our home, he continued to communicate with us and gave us the proper paperwork for the first-tim...
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John M.

Franco is as honest and genuine as they come. He steered me away from properties that needed too much work and did not encourage me to look at anything out of my budget. He had my interests in mind only and was present and enth...
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Rukfern

We love Franco! We’ve used him to sell our home and purchase a home. When things didn’t go our way (at no fault of his) Franco stuck with us through the process and helped us make the right decisions, even if it was going to de...
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Nathan F.

There are many Realtors® in the DC Metro area, but there are very few that will go the extra mile to care for their clients. Franco is one of those Realtors®. He's great with first-time homeowners and has a warm jovial personal...
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Buyer & Seller

I first worked with Franco in 2010 during the purchase of my first home. He was professional, knowledgeable, and extremely patient. He's charismatic and kind and was able to encourage me through the process during the times whe...
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Rukshani L.

Buying a place is always a stressful experience, I am so glad that Franco was there every step of the way! Being a first-time buyer, there was so much I didn't know. Franco listened to what I wanted and did not pressure me into...
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Kellie C.

Franco loves his job and it shows! My husband and I were first-time home buyers and the wealth of knowledge, commitment, and patience Franco showed us was beyond compare. Franco always sent us listings and made himself availabl...
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Amanda P. & Peter D.

Franco was great! He helped us sell our house and buy a new one. Both processes were quick and easy, and we enjoyed working with him as our agent. Franco is a nice guy, no pressure, very helpful and available to talk through an...
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Kimberly D.

Franco is my absolute "go to" person for all things real estate. Not only is he polite, professional and responsive, he's upfront, honest and super knowledgeable. A true expert in this industry, Franco is definitely someone you...
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Callie & Jessie F.

Finding and selling a home are emotional, personal experiences, and Franco walks with you in a professional, thoughtful, and fun manner. He knows and loves the DC/MD/VA area, and always goes above and beyond to make sure we are...
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Mike & Diana W.

We want to thank you for handling the sale in Olney MD. We appreciated your knowledge and professional manner. You are an asset to your team and company. Thank you again for holding our hands through the sale of our property.
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Chelsea E.

I really cannot recommend Franco highly enough! Franco dove right in and worked tirelessly to find us the perfect home in an extremely competitive market. He sent us amazing listings that fit all of our fairly specific criteria...
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Sabrina H.

Franco, we can't thank you enough for the help and guidance you provided as we moved out of state. You exceeded our expectations for getting the house sold. In addition, you assisted us in managing construction, clean-up, and r...
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Tom B.

We worked with Franco to sell our home, as well as to purchase a new home. From the beginning, we were impressed with Franco's dedication to listening to our needs and presenting us with options that aligned with them. We alway...
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He advises his sellers on which improvements are needed to get the greatest market value and which improvements have the greatest returns. In addition, franco can provide you with reliable lenders, title specialists, and insurance agents.

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